The nurse is taking the initial history of a patient admitted to the hospital for hypertension. The physician has ordered a beta-adrenergic blocker. Which statement by the patient does the nurse recognize as most significant?
1. "I don't handle stress well; I have a lot of diarrhea."
2. "When I have a migraine headache, I need to have the room darkened."
3. "My father died of a heart attack when he was 48-years-old."
4. "I have always had problems with my asthma."
Correct Answer: 4
Rationale: With increased doses, beta-adrenergic blockers can slow the heart rate and cause bronchoconstriction. They should be used with caution in patients with asthma. Beta-adrenergic blockers do not affect migraine headaches. Having a father who died of a heart attack when he was young is significant, but has no correlation to this patient and use of beta-adrenergic blockers. There is no correlation between increased stress, diarrhea, and beta-adrenergic blockers.
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